Three credit unions have signed on with Happy Money, a Costa Mesa, Calif.-based fintech aimed at helping consumers pay down credit card debt.
The three CUs are Alliant Credit Union, First Tech Federal Credit Union and Technology Credit Union.
“We are thrilled to formally announce our alliances with Alliant, First Tech and Technology Credit Union,” CEO and Happy Money Founder Scott Saunders said in a statement. “With our shared philosophies, we’ve been able to fuse our consumer-facing products with our credit union partners to create a win-win-win partnership for consumers, credit unions, and Happy Money.”
All three credit unions are well capitalized. Year-to-date, First Technology earned $57,816,800 in net income, while Alliant earned $37,370,239. Through the quarter ended in March 2018, Technology Credit Union earned $7,093,343 in net income.
According to Alliant CU President and CEO Dave Mooney, the partnership stems from Happy Money’s fusion of science, psychology and technology.
That sentiment was shared by Tech Credit Union CEO Todd Harris, who also gleaned interest from Happy Money’s ability to interweave psychology and money.
"I’ve found that the bulk of what’s out there for consumers when it comes to helping them with financial decisions addresses mainly the ‘end goal’ — paying bills, improving credit [and] saving,” Harris said in a statement. “While these are incredibly important issues, there hasn’t been much focus on the ‘people’ aspect of money.”
First Tech Federal Credit Union’s CEO and president, Greg Mitchell, saw innovation in the tech company’s efforts to assist credit burdened consumers, especially within user experience.
“Our partnership with Happy Money is producing quality loans for our portfolio, new members with interests that align with our core values and insights into novel underwriting and UI/UX tools that can assist in delivering amazing experiences to our existing members,” Mitchell said in a statement.
Bigwigs such as VISA's Former CEO Joe Saunders and American Express' Former President, Phillip Riese, are also involved with the company. To date, Happy Money has deployed over $250 million in credit union capital to aid those who are paying off their credit unions.
The fintech says it is looking to continue its partnerships with credit unions across the country and plans to speak at the CUNA Lending Council Conference taking place this October in Anaheim, Calif.
